working out the kinks
by Ice of the Kitsune's Fire
Summary: For Natsu and Lucy, being married has never been easier. Just kidding.


When he proposes, it's kinda-sorta not a proposal at all.

The entire guild has gone into a state of orderly chaos, as usual, making epic claims that Natsu is pregnant with _her_ child (and seriously, where the _hell_ did that come from?), and she's flailing about like the blushing, flustered mess she is, and Juvia is screeching and Gray is shouting and Erza is _eating cake_ and Levy is squealing-

-and Natsu is getting down on his knees and proposing.

Because apparently, he is pregnant with her child and- _oh, this is just ridiculous_- Lucy hightails it out of Fairy Tail. For god's sake, he didn't even have a ring!

Three weeks later, they end up getting married anyway.

* * *

><p>She's nervous, inexplicably, utterly nervous because she's <em>getting married<em>, and god _damn it_ she's barely an adult, and she's getting married to someone whose hair is _pink_! Who the hell _did _pink? People with unnatural hair colors were just _weird_.

Lucy rants about this to Levy and Juvia, who give her a stern look in response until Lucy realizes that their hair is _blue_. She makes a hasty getaway into the changing room to don the wedding gown.

It's soft and lacy and it itches like hell.

She has butterflies in her stomach, but Mirajane assures her, nervously (why was she _nervous_?) that Lucy looks, "absolutely fabulous, sweetie," and that she should probably get out into the wedding hall before someone commits a homicide.

Lucy steps awkwardly out in confusion, and her jaw drops to the ground.

Erza has eaten through half of their wedding cake (several layers of strawberry iced goodness- it was a testimony to Erza's metabolism that she didn't get fat from the amount of cake she ate), Gray has somehow accidentally embarrassed Juvia and the entire place is flooded, Cana is drinking straight through the booze, Guildarts has accidentally knocked down half of the church as Gajeel kidnaps Levy and makes a stealthy getaway…

…and Natsu, Natsu himself, is at the center of it all, his tuxedo half burned off and cackling like a madman as he hurls himself at Gray.

Wendy, who is donned in an adorable little pink dress and is smiling innocently up at Lucy, is the only thing that prevents the blonde from throwing herself off a cliff.

They manage to get married a couple hours later, after Natsu has accidentally maimed the pastor and Makarov is forced to be the replacement (_"Do you, Natsu Dragneel, take- oh, forget it. Just start making out already so we can eat"_), and Lucy almost doesn't regret that she didn't go jump off that cliff after all when Natsu grins cheekily at her, looking the happiest she's seen him yet. She blushes, mentally berating herself for allowing his smile to make her blush when they're _about to get married_. It's sweet and cute and she wishes this one moment could last forever-

Then Happy comes in, accidentally drops fish all over her wedding dress, and she wonders why she's even there in the first place.

* * *

><p>Natsu moves in with her, and with him comes Happy and pretty much their entire house. And by house, she means all their belongings, but their belongings take up so much space they might as well have just brought their entire house with them.<p>

And the first week is _absolute hell_. She now has to do double the organizing, double the cleaning, double the cooking (triple, actually, considering Natsu's appetite), double the working, and double the _everything_!

Their first argument is when Lucy can't take it anymore and loudly proclaims that she's going to throw away some of his _"junk, and it's only taking up space, so we might as well!"_ Natsu vehemently refuses, and their argument escalates into much more than that of a lover's spat. Lucy almost pulls out _the_ card ("_Are you going to make me force you to sleep on the couch?"_), when he suddenly loses his fire and looks at her almost apologetically.

"It's just…" he scratches his neck nervously. "It's just, these are mementos. Of my time with you, and our memories. I don't want to throw that away…"

And it suddenly occurs to Lucy that Igneel's scarf and Natsu's ability to fight is all Natsu has left of his fatherly figure, and they are the only physical reminder that Igneel was with him at all. And that maybe, just maybe, he loves her enough that he's afraid of the same thing happening with her.

So Lucy smiles an apologetic smile of her own, wraps her arms around his warm, warm torso, and softly whispers a promise of eternity.

He laughs, pulling her closer, and says he'll hold her to it

* * *

><p>The first night they, y'know, <em>do it<em> (and ohmygod, the memory is making her red from head to toe), she can't tell whether or not he's gone crazy, because the look he's giving her is seriously making her doubt her, y'know, sense of honor and common sense and '_let's wait until we're older'_.

It's because she can't think coherently when he's looking at her like that, she decides later on, that she even let him get so close to her _like that_. And suddenly all she can think of is heat and contact and he's so, so warm, and would he kindly hold her a little- a _lot_- closer?

She wakes up the next morning, realizes they are completely naked, and screeches so loud that all the neighbors wake up, as she flushes bright scarlet and scrambles to get dressed.

(And of course, Natsu is still snoring away.)

* * *

><p>So all of a sudden, one day, she's <em>pregnant<em> and _OHMYGOSH SHE'S PREGNANT WHAT IS SHE GOING TO DO_?

She stumbles into the guild after having thrown up and eaten an interesting breakfast of celery and jello (combined. In a sandwich with mayonnaise) and slumps into the bar and quietly wails the news to Mirajane.

"Oh, I see," Mirajane says cheerfully. She stirs the cup in her hand thoughtfully, and Lucy almost thinks that she's taken the news well and maybe, if she's lucky, everyone else will be just as normal and-

-Mirajane falls over in a dead faint.

And of _course_, Cana just happened to be nearby, so she jumps onto the bar and shouts the news to everyone (and Natsu is still out, doing god-knows-what, and where the _hell is he when she needs him?_), and the entire guild crowds around her.

"I thought it was Natsu that was pregnant?" Erza says with a completely serious face, and Lucy stares at her awkwardly, waiting for a punch line or _something_.

…there's none. Lucy sighs and confirms that yes, _she's pregnant_, and yes, it's kinda with Natsu's child, and _would everyone stop grinning at her like that?_

And then lo and behold comes the husband himself, oblivious and clueless and _where the hell was he in the morning when she woke up and HE WASN'T THERE?_

"Lucy!" The boy says excitedly, jumping over to her (and subsequently kicking Elfman in the face _by accident, of course- _Lisanna giggles as Elfman fumes in a manly manner). "I have something to tell you!"

"Er, Natsu," Lucy says awkwardly. "Can that wait? I have something _really_ important to tell you first…"

"Yes, yes, tell him," Cana grins, jabbing Lucy's ribcage. Lucy suddenly has to resist the urge of filling up the sink near the bar and calling Aquarius on them all.

"Weelllll," the spirit mage says awkwardly; Natsu's face is so damn oblivious and _cute_, and _ohgod,_ this was so not the time for finding her husband hot-

"I'm pregnant."

And before she can even expect Natsu to be surprised or freak out or maybe light the guild on fire, he looks at her mildly and says,

"I thought I was the one that was pregnant?"

Lucy slams her head into the wall as Macao laughs at Natsu's stupidity, and Juvia and Gray and Erza have to talk to him (beat it into him) until he _finally_ gets it, and grins broadly.

"That's great!" Natsu says proudly, and flourishes a box, and _ohmygod, this couldn't be what she thought it was, could it?_

"So," he clears his throat. "I know we're kinda married and everything, but since I never got the chance to do it properly and you complained to me every single fucking day about it for a week…"

The velvet box opens. Mirajane magically springs back to consciousness and her eyes are sparkling as Natsu gets down on one knee.

"Will you marry me?"

And Lucy is dumbfounded and speechless and _he was sweet enough to think of this?_ and she's just so stunned that Natsu could be _thoughtful_ because whoddathunk? So _that_ was where he was this morning? The ring is gorgeous…

She coughs.

"Natsu. We're _already_ married."

* * *

><p>It's two in the morning, and it's a girl.<p>

Lucy is panting on the hospital bed, sweating and moaning and bitching but she's happy and proud and feeling so accomplished, and she can tell it's a girl because Natsu is entranced with the baby.

"Well?" she manages to gasp out after a moment, when the pain has receded and Natsu is still staring in wonder at the wailing child. "Do I get to hold my daughter or what?"

Natsu wondrously holds out his calloused, tan hand that has burned its way through countless enemies and brought down multiple cities, and gently touches it to the pink, moist skin of _their_ baby, and his smile when he does is so breathtaking that Lucy manages a smile of her own.

And when she gets to hold their baby girl, and Natsu is _still_ staring, she spots a few pink curls on the baby's head, and a grin breaks out onto her face because the hours of screaming and sobbing and torture were _so, so worth it._

"Her… her name?" Natsu gulps, and Lucy is amused to see that this raucous, brash man that has vanquished so many enemies has fallen hopeless victim to this tiny little thing squirming in her arms.

"Well," Lucy sighs. "We're definitely not naming her Igneel."

They're peacefully silent for a moment.

Then Natsu is all over her, hissing his protest and determination, and Lucy is too tired to laugh that, even though normally he'd be hollering loud enough to wake the entire hospital, he's being quiet for the sake of their daughter.

They'd figure out the rest later.

* * *

><p>AN: For Lucy-chaaan and Ree-Vance, the former who requested a marriage life of Natsu and Lucy, and the latter who requested I did a sequel to my sequel. I ended up sneaking in _another_ reference. Don't sue me this time!

Review~


End file.
